bibiking1:

The Northerners are busy ruling, why should they be commenting on Nairaland

And Enjoyment is busy enjoying himself on Nairaland.

Thanks man, but the facts remains unchanged.

Enjoyment1:

Thanks man, but the facts remains unchanged.

Pray tell, how did Obasanjo (a Yoruba) lead Nigeria for 8 years?
Was he better than Yaradua?
Why did he appoint Yaradua to the position?
Were the universities better during Obj's time than now?
Were (was) there ASUU strike(s) then?

Too many cowards in Nigeria, save the Fulani's

tribalism has taken over this section for the last couple of months.

richyblack has to do something about this.

post
Plz try another thread this didnt sell.

Pray tell, how did Obasanjo (a Yoruba) lead Nigeria for 8 years?
Was he better than Yaradua?
Why did he appoint Yaradua to the position?


OBJ is just a Arrow, he appointed Yardua as President only to turn around and start critising him, when he had a young vibrant EFCC Chairman who he could appoint, but his thinking was Yardua na odenson or mugu, now he reaise he is the mugu as maga don pay now.

I have touched upon this point before, but there seems to be a dearth of northern opinion on NL, and on Nigerian-centric websites in general. Internet forums seem to be southern hotspots. They do not have Federal Character!

In all seriousness what drives northerners away from net forums? Is it because of derogatory anti-northern talkbacks?

The views here are largely southern views. We rarely hear the northern viewpoint here and one must go to sites like Amana Online, Gamji and Arewa Online to get the northern viewpoint. Comments please.

Abu-Maryam:

post
Plz try another thread this didnt sell.

When issues like this are discussed, the affected ones like you, having nothing to say, will condemn it immediately. I am sure you know it is the truth. You guys are the problem of this country.

maxsiollun:

I have touched upon this point before, but there seems to be a dearth of northern opinion on NL, and on Nigerian-centric websites in general. Internet forums seem to be southern hotspots. They do not have Federal Character!

In all seriousness what drives northerners away from net forums? Is it because of derogatory anti-northern talkbacks?

The views here are largely southern views. We rarely hear the northern viewpoint here and one must go to sites like Amana Online, Gamji and Arewa Online to get the northern viewpoint. Comments please.

I concur with you wholeheartedly.

I'm a northerner, hausa/fulani by tribe, I used 2 b a very active member of nl but i now visit d site occasionally nd i dnt comment,this is due 2 d fact nl is populated mainly by ethnic nd religious bigots who wud never want 2 reason nd look at things objectively, There ar only few intellectuals who hold gud nd serious arguements, back 2 d topic, all of u here cannot tell me u dnt know dat there ar intelligent northerner who can match,compete nd even beat southerners in so very many things, nd thats wat scares u, U can log on to nl and rant all day about how northerners ar illiterates,but deep within u u know dats not true. In as much as i wud agree dat there ar illiterates in d north,there ar also illiterates in d south. Illiteracy is not a northern problem,it is a national problem. Most northerners dnt waste their time on nl cos they got better nd more important things 2 do, I know most of u wished u were northerners,but sorry that u were not so lucky,

maxsiollun:

I have touched upon this point before, but there seems to be a dearth of northern opinion on NL, and on Nigerian-centric websites in general. Internet forums seem to be southern hotspots. They do not have Federal Character!

In all seriousness what drives northerners away from net forums? Is it because of derogatory anti-northern talkbacks?

The views here are largely southern views. We rarely hear the northern viewpoint here and one must go to sites like Amana Online, Gamji and Arewa Online to get the northern viewpoint. Comments please.

Access to internet-80% of people with internet access are in the SW/SE,
Poverty-
Education
Interests

Muza:

I'm a northerner, hausa/fulani by tribe, I used 2 b a very active member of nl but i now visit d site occasionally nd i dnt comment,this is due 2 d fact nl is populated mainly by ethnic nd religious bigots who wud never want 2 reason nd look at things objectively, There ar only few intellectuals who hold gud nd serious arguements, back 2 d topic, all of u here cannot tell me u dnt know dat there ar intelligent northerner who can match,compete nd even beat southerners in so very many things, nd thats wat scares u, U can log on to nl and rant all day about how northerners ar illiterates,but deep within u u know dats not true. In as much as i wud agree dat there ar illiterates in d north,there ar also illiterates in d south. Illiteracy is not a northern problem,it is a national problem. Most northerners dnt waste their time on nl cos they got better nd more important things 2 do, I know most of u wished u were northerners,but sorry that u were not so lucky,

It is a pity I never met you online, but deep inside of you, I know you would have denied your tribe, and wanted to be a southerner. Look at it critically, what has the north contributed to the this forced-federal structure?. Tell me, what is that thing, that the south will miss if the north decides to go today?. Mention it here?. I guess, you wont want to mention backwardness, illiteracy, and most especially, begging culture and religious riot, yet the north has been in power more than 85% of Nigeria's existence.

U ARE ALL BASTARDS!!! ANTI - AREWA,NA BAD BELE GO KILL UNA, Woooo.

The North: Underdevelopment, Poverty and Leadership Questions





A never-ending debate was rekindled when a couple of weeks ago, the boyish-looking middle-aged civil-servant turned politician and Governor of Niger State, Talban Minna, Alhaji Muazu Babangida Aliyu, (PhD), made some serious remarks bordering on underdevelopment, backwardness and abject poverty in the north while addressing a one-day symposium on poverty eradication in Northern states on Saturday, December 13, 2008.



His weighty allegations were weighty enough to sparked off controversies, counter offensive rebuttals and re-ignited the debate about who to blame regarding the stark underdevelopment; de-industrialization, collapse of agriculture and the attendant very high levels of unemployment, illiteracy and abject poverty of the north. Whose responsibility is it to correct and turnaround the sad situation also pervaded and charged the democratic discourse atmosphere.



The sad situation in the north is further compounded with the lingering culture of adult, youth and child begging (i.e. Almajirce) associated with some people and or communities of northern extraction to be found all over the county’s major towns and cities.



This piece is not about blame laying and finger-pointing. It is an attempt to put the discourse into proper context and perspective; a positive development in problem-solving contextual framework. As such, I will ignore most of the personalization of the debate that took place since the issue cropped up.



A careful study of the exchanges; rejoinders and other viewpoints expressed both in the print and electronic media (including the internet), by concerned members of the public that took place since the debate ensued provided me an insight into the wider issues at stake. However, I will restrict my present analysis on just a few emerging issues from the exchanges.



First and foremost, I wish to congratulate Niger State Chief Servant, Dr. Aliyu, for having the moral courage to draw the attention of Nigerians to the plight of millions of people languishing in abject poverty in the north. He is not the first and will not be the last to do that. Statistically, abject poverty level in the north has been estimated to be hovering around 70% to 75% of the total northern population and similarly, of the total national population of Nigeria; that is, people living below the poverty line or below the basic minimum stylized $2 per day and per person.



As matter of fact, a World Bank’s recent study identified northern Nigeria as among the poorest places on earth. This shocking revelation corroborates and further supported our own Central Bank Governor, Professor Chukwuma C. Soludo when he stated the obvious facts about the worsening underdevelopment, high illiteracy rate and abject poverty levels in the north at a public function in Kaduna some time last year and he was unnecessarily vilified for saying the naked truth.



Therefore, the issues Dr. Aliyu, Niger State Chief Servant raised should not be reduced to merely simplistic blame game. His wake-up calls should not just be seen as attempts to seek for undue attention, recognition and or popularity as some stakeholders have already claimed and or alluded to.



As a highly educated, highly experienced and accomplished, and fulfilled retired federal permanent secretary and presently, a state Governor, he cannot be so accused. Having made this clarification, I will like to join issues with fellow stakeholders on these and probably other salient issues waiting to be raised and or addressed. These are as follows:



The north: its underdevelopment, poverty and inept leadership – the root causes


The fundamental factors that transformed the historically vibrant giant agricultural and commerce-based economy of northern Nigeria (ipso factor other geo-political regions of Nigeria, inclusive of the Niger delta region) to its present sleeping giant economic status can be summarized and grouped into three. These are:

a) First, the poor management of the negative consequence associated with sudden discovery of oil and gas resources in Nigeria’s Niger delta oil and gas-rich region. In natural resource economics, this is generally known as the ‘Dutch Disease’ effect - arising from the discovery of oil and gas that substituted agriculture, manufacturing and commerce as the main economic stay of the Nigerian economy and society of which the north is a major component of it.

While inflation and currency appreciation slowly killed industry and agriculture, a parasitic class of newly-rich elite lived off oil money, waiting for the next windfall bonanza to come in. By the time windfall manna from the heaven stopped falling, the nation finds it unable to balance its budget and feeds itself, forcing it to declare neoliberal economic austerity measures and finishing always at the tail end of world leading economic, human and social development indices. The very kind of situation Nigeria finds itself today.

Thus, if not properly managed, the wealth derived from natural resources endowments of a country can paradoxically, have a tremendous negative impact on the macro economics and politics of producing countries or regions as the case may be as I will be discussing in later in this my contribution to this great discourse.

b) Second, the emergence of rabid ‘rent-seeking’ and racketeering activities – a situation whereby when “free” money is flowing out of the ground, people who might otherwise be engaged in fruitful and productive economic activities such as farming or start a business or do something innovative instead busy themselves angling for a share of the spoils of the new found oil wealth. These unproductive activities create the condition political economists call ‘Resource Curse.’

According to the literature, Countries with large endowments of natural resources, such as oil and gas (like in Nigeria), often do worse than their poorer neighbors. Their resource wealth frequently leads to lower growth rates, greater volatility, more corruption, and in extreme cases, devastating civil wars. Nigeria is a typical example and the north has its proportionate share of it all.

‘Resource Curse’ is therefore a problem affecting the lives of millions and millions of people in oil and gas resource-rich countries especially in developing and transition economies; the worst being in sub-Saharan Africa with Nigeria leading the pack. The effects of resource curse have contributed to keeping millions of Nigerian people impoverished despite the oil wealth of the country.

c) Third, emergence of bad governance and inept leadership, which evolved largely as a result of the new found oil and gas wealth. The combination of ‘resource curse’ syndrome and the problems of bad governance, missing mechanisms of transparency and accountability, absence of a true democratic culture – all lead to inept leadership.

All these generate what policy sciences, political science and political economy scholars and practitioners dubbed ‘Paradox of Plenty’ in the literature. Put differently, Nigeria isn't poor despite its oil riches--it's poor because of them.

I will discuss these above outlined three key issues accordingly, in my subsequent follow-up articles on this discourse about the north and its developmental and leadership problems and challenges.



Abubakar Atiku Nuhu-Koko

Tuesday, 06 January 2009



http://www.nigerianmuse.com/20090107092239zg/articles/the-north-underdevelopment-poverty-and-leadership-questions

That is why they will never surrender power.

That is why they will never surrender power.

What a topic?

No two way about it, the igbos own Nairaland!. Shekinah!.

why blame the Northerners for all our problems? poverty and corruption exists down here. we need real leaders regardless of their ethnic origins. besides, poverty is worse in the North, they get disabled by meningitis and polios, no vaccines, health care in shambles. foreign pharmaceutical companies use them as guinea pigs.

Unlike other folk, we come to Nairaland without any hangups. That explains why you may not see vigorous
reactions to the  attacks we meet  on this forum. Some of the rubbish spewed here are better often ignored
because they have not deviated from the beaten track- northerners and leadership in Nigeria, northerners
literacy and so on and so forth. No one is asking for medals for any feat but the issue remains that whatever
befalls this nation is a collective tragedy everybody is involved I always wonder why people never ask questions.
Nigerians collectively run this country and if you failed collectively, only the northerner is responsible.

On the basis of the foregoing, how do you expect  meaningful debate? This is the mindset and even the title
of this thread says it all. People have formed impressions, not necessarily out of their own experiences, sometimes
through hearsay and tales told by jaundiced persons and it becomes their primer.

Today it is a democracy and there is freedom of speech. Say what you want and  we  in return are free to read, respond
or ignore  what you say. Why are you unhappy if we refuse to respond?  And who says everybody must come to Nairaland ?
Who is the poster among 150 million or more people even, Nairaland,which , as I am writing , has 441076members. Why should i
respond to the tantrums of those whose phobia does not increase any value to my life?

Persons who feel aggrieved , or challenged should face their representatives and defend their votes. By so doing,they can stop
the rot going on in this nation. Without the nerve to do so, they turn to the only wall they could hang their blame- the northerner.
Many have refused to join the mime on this thread as even the simplest attempt at response is visited with the same argument, nothing
new. So we continue to watch in amusement. Have these educated , sophisticated, and enlightened guys run short of ideas on why we
are today. When will they stop and start thinking about tomorrow?

Our savvy guys in Nairaland have only ideas on what happened yesterday and who to blame. What shall we do tomorrow- no idea, but
they have primers on what happened yesterday. Wer should use our past and present experiences to shape our tomorrow
and not continue to live in the past.

Oboma1:

No two way about it, the igbos own Nairaland!. Shekinah!.

really?

Oboma1:

In[b] as muclike tribalism,h as I dont and will not say this is a good topic, but I will never shy away from the truth, the Hausas are the problem of this country. The south would have been 20 years ahead of other countries, but the backward nature, and the power birth-right tendencies amongst our "POLITCAL DEALERS"will nèver allow a vibrant and a contemporary young politician come to power. We keep recycling these old fools, whose contributions have expired. After Yar'adua, I am sure Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji, will resurface, and later, the religious bigot, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, will show his ugly face, or even his son may contest. The same old gays!.

Oboma1:

[b]In as much as I dont like tribalism, and will not say this is a good topic, but I will never shy away from the truth, the Hausas are the problem of this country. The south would have been 20 years ahead of other countries, but the backward nature, and the power birth-right tendencies amongst our "POLITCAL DEALERS"will nèver allow a vibrant and a contemporary young politician come to power. We keep recycling these old fools, whose contributions have expired. After Yar'adua, I am sure Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji, will resurface, and later, the religious bigot, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, will show his ugly face, or even his son may contest. The same old gays!. [/b]

^^^^^^^^^^
Need I say more?

this country is in a mess because of this kind of prejudiced or at best misinformed sentiments.

think about it

Oyo state for example is NOT a northern state
Alao Akala it's governor is NOT a northerner
the people who either voted for him or couldn't stand by their votes were NOT northerners
the man who conducted the election that put him in office is NOT a northerner
the president who oversaw the electoral process at that time was NOT a northerner

let's face it, the problem is hardly the north. In fact, Joe-six-pack in the north is more victim than Joe in the south.

the problem here are the politicians, regardless of their extraction.

All of you Joes and Janes here don't see eye-to-eye,
but the politicians, north, south, east and west are friends
at least until they need to incite you the Joes for their selfish ends.

Or is the north responsible for James Ibori or Lucky Igbinedion or Alameisiya raping their states blind with little or no developments to see in some of .the states.

states in the north with northern govs have issues
states in the south governed by southerners have sometimes bigger issues: how do you blame the north for that

cola:

Or is the north responsible for James Ibori or Lucky Igbinedion or Alameisiya despoiling their states blind with little or no developments to see in some of .the states.

states in the north with northern govs have issues
states in the south governed by southerners have sometimes bigger issues: how do you blame the north for that

The North killed this country during military reign. I dont know how you see it.

No matter what anyone says here, military rule finished Nigeria. Who are those behind the military rule, THE NORTHERNERS. Shekinah!.

DisGuy:

even more proof that those literate were certificate carrying imbeciles anyway

Lets look at issues here. The major problem with the north is the fear of the unknown, hence, the only way to have a secured future in this nation is to cling onto power and recycle it amongst themselves. As for the south, their major problem is greed. The only thing in their mind is how to enrich themselves at the expense of the masses. That is what the northerners have discovered amongst the southerners, and they are using it against the south. That is why, whenever a policy is unpopular, the northerners look for the greediest and the most popular southerners to do the dirty work for them. That is why people like Ojo Madueke could still remain in any government. That is why, the Ooni of Ife, will ever be relevant to the north. That is why, some Yoruba fools sees IBB to be the only saviour of the Nigerian race. That is why Uche Chukwumerijie acted as "amebo" to IBB during his era. They are too numerous to mention.

I think Southerners are suffering from serious "Afghanistanism", a condition where one refused to deal with local source of problem and believe all his problems are caused by far, foreign and remote people. If the Southern leaders are so weak and could not influence anything and not responsible for anything good or bad, why not remove all of them and hire the "all powerful" Northerners to represent the South also. lol.